im relapsing into overthinking, falling into the rabbit hole. I'm going to turn off my brain now and dismiss every concern. I'm not going to address anything. I will act as if this triggering episode never happened, and with that the rabbit hole that I fell into. I'm going to drown the thoughts.
Good. You can start over any time!
Unfortunately, since you're the one experiencing it, you'll probably never actually forget it happened. It's always in the background wondering why you haven't acknowledged it. And that can get extremely uncomfortable too. I tried this for years only to have those memories flood in during a crisis episode, all at once. If it truly bothers you, share it on here and/or share it with your therapist. They can help you diffuse the thought you're obsessing over.
I understand, my issue though is that when I share ocd episodes it has an habit of becoming a compulsion where i address everything in the most detailed way possible, trying to get rid of that and try not to make every little ocd episode the biggest crisis ever so i can move on. appreciate the advice though, it is sometimes that way, i guess we just have to be more mindful (but not overthink) in what we do
@Nameless000 actually idk if what i just said is legit 100%, like idk if it really is a compulsion, but it was my main compulsion. From my experience delaying this "compulsion" to the point of not addressing at all but just move on has helped me feel more normal, less stressed and not overthinking things. I just try not to aknowledge the triggering episode and challenge myself by moving forward through the distress with the day as if nothing happened, trying to maintain this compulsion-free streak the most i can. By doing so i take away power from ocd and spend less time ruminating and overthinking things as well as stressing over writing down every triggering episode related to ocd, it is less tiring and i feel somehow freer. sometimes though i have big relapses, but i try to recover. In short, by not writing down/addressing triggering ocd episodes I'm not attaching any meaning to the event, I act as if it didn't bother me to trick ocd that it isn't important. If I were to write it down, for me, it would be like aknowledging that it is important and so giving it power over me. Instead of grabbing this moment in time and getting stuck with it i just try to let it go, I eat up the distress and challenge myself by moving on with the day regardless of the bump in the way and with some luck i might forget and not think abt it
Hi, last year I had a trigger with my little cousin that made me spiral. Then that thought lead to another and lead to another thought and another one and so on and I've been feeling stuck (with ups and downs) over a year now. I hit rock bottom in July/August and that lead me to going to the psychiatrist. I am taking meds now, but I still feel bad. It doesn't take as much time of my life anymore but it is constantly back there in my mind. It's the feeling that I'm ignoring and undoubtable truth that soonest or later will come out, or that rejecting, or that I'm resisting. That's why it's been impossible for me to do ERP, because I think it's going to make me want to touch myself and if I do I'll feel bad. And then it feels like I like the thoughts, not only physically (groinals) but mentally??? It's like a brain fog that I can't tag between pleasure or confusion. And that thought leads me to thinking about the alleged "non-offending" ps and if that could be me. And that thought leads me to think OH MY GOD I can't BELIEVE I am a girl in my twenties obsessing over this I can't believe this is my life.
I ruminated too much this morning and got distressing mental images (and confirmation) which sent me spiraling again. How do I stop thinking about this and how do I get back to myself? I feel destroyed.
I've been doing well the past month in cutting down on compulsions and have been feeling better however, last night I had a set back that carried on into today. I had gotten very poor sleep (4ish hours) and then something triggered my memory. I think with the sudden anxiety spike and lack of sleep I didn't have the strength to ignore my compulsions. Last night and today I've realised I've gone back into rumination and mentally reviewing the event excessively again and comparing my situation to other people's, but most of the times that I start going down these rabbit holes I don't even realise I'm doing it? Also been fixating a bit on the fear that I've ruined my progress and that I will fall back into the deep end of it all again, that I have done so much work getting myself out of, although trying my best to not be too discouraged. Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with rumination more specifically?
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